After two brothers in a Los Angeles Target were asked to either wear a mask or leave the store, they engaged in a confrontation with a security guard that ended with arrests for breaking his arm.
“Face Covering fight: a security guard was left with a broken arm following a physical confrontation with two men who refused to wear face masks inside a Target in Van Nuys,” a tweet from the local ABC affiliate read.
They were able to leave the store, but they were subsequently tracked down and arrested. The brothers’ bails have been set at $50,000 apiece, and they are facing charges of felony and battery.
Online, video of the incident has drawn criticism of the brothers’ actions and the store policy itself.
“Agree with it or not,” Twitter user @tico418 wrote. “It’s store policy. You don’t like it shop somewhere else. No different than no shirt no service.”
For others, the video’s popularity online has become a platform to share their general distaste for masks and other coronavirus regulations.
“Masks work little to nothing in enclosed spaces for short period of time and the material must be correct,” Twitter user @Begrateful2god wrote. “Surgeon for 30 years clarifies! Otherwise is a health risk to breathe your own CO2! #Masks shouldn’t be mandatory! It’s irrational.”
Despite misinformation about masks and their effectiveness in combatting the coronavirus, the CDC still recommends people wear them in public. Masks of the homemade variety and other facial coverings are effective in trapping the droplets of moisture that spread the virus. This means they serve more to keep asymptomatic people from spreading the virus to others in public spaces.
H/T: Complex